Five Hundred Years of Injustice:The Legacy of Fifteenth Century Religious Prejudice by Steve Newcomb

When Christopher Columbus first set foot on the white sands of Guanahani island, he performed a ceremony to "take possession" of the land for the king and queen of Spain, acting under the international laws of Western Christendom. Although the story of Columbus' "discovery" has taken on mythological proportions in most of the Western world, few people are aware that his act of "possession" was based on a religious doctrine now known in history as the Doctrine of Discovery. Even fewer people realize that today - five centuries later - the United States government still uses this archaic Judeo-Christian doctrine to deny the rights of Native American Indians.

Origins of the Doctrine of DiscoveryTo understand the connection between Christendom's principle of discovery and the laws of the United States, we need to begin by examining a papal document issued forty years before Columbus' historic voyage In 1452, Pope Nicholas V issued to King Alfonso V of Portugal the bull Romanus Pontifex, declaring war against all non-Christians throughout the world, and specifically sanctioning and promoting the conquest, colonization, and exploitation of non-Christian nations and their territories.

Under various theological and legal doctrines formulated during and after the Crusades, non-Christians were considered enemies of the Catholic faith and, as such, less than human. Accordingly, in the bull of 1452, Pope Nicholas directed King Alfonso to "capture, vanquish, and subdue the saracens, pagans, and other enemies of Christ," to "put them into perpetual slavery," and "to take all their possessions and property." [Davenport: 20-26] Acting on this papal privilege, Portugal continued to traffic in African slaves, and expanded its royal dominions by making "discoveries" along the western coast of Africa, claiming those lands as Portuguese territory.

Thus, when Columbus sailed west across the Sea of Darkness in 1492 - with the express understanding that he was authorized to "take possession" of any lands he "discovered" that were "not under the dominion of any Christian rulers" - he and the Spanish sovereigns of Aragon and Castile were following an already well-established tradition of "discovery" and conquest. [Thacher:96] Indeed, after Columbus returned to Europe, Pope Alexander VI issued a papal document, the bull Inter Cetera of May 3, 1493, "granting" to Spain - at the request of Ferdinand and Isabella - the right to conquer the lands which Columbus had already found, as well as any lands which Spain might "discover" in the future.

In the Inter Cetera document, Pope Alexander stated his desire that the "discovered" people be "subjugated and brought to the faith itself." [Davenport:61] By this means, said the pope, the "Christian Empire" would be propagated. [Thacher:127] When Portugal protested this concession to Spain, Pope Alexander stipulated in a subsequent bull - issued May 4, 1493 - that Spain must not attempt to establish its dominion over lands which had already "come into the possession of any Christian lords." [Davenport:68] Then, to placate the two rival monarchs, the pope drew a line of demarcation between the two poles, giving Spain rights of conquest and dominion over one side of the globe, and Portugal over the other.

During this quincentennial of Columbus' journey to the Americas, it is important to recognize that the grim acts of genocide and conquest committed by Columbus and his men against the peaceful Native people of the Caribbean were sanctioned by the abovementioned documents of the Catholic Church. Indeed, these papal documents were frequently used by Christian European conquerors in the Americas to justify an incredibly brutal system of colonization - which dehumanized the indigenous people by regarding their territories as being "inhabited only by brute animals." [Story:135-6]

The lesson to be learned is that the papal bulls of 1452 and 1493 are but two clear examples of how the "Christian Powers," or "different States of Christendom," viewed indigenous peoples as "the lawful spoil and prey of their civilized conquerors." [Wheaton:270-1] In fact, the Christian "Law of Nations" asserted that Christian nations had a divine right, based on the Bible, to claim absolute title to and ultimate authority over any newly "discovered" Non-Christian inhabitants and their lands. Over the next several centuries, these beliefs gave rise to the Doctrine of Discovery used by Spain, Portugal, England, France, and Holland - all Christian nations.

The Doctrine of Discovery in U.S. LawIn 1823, the Christian Doctrine of Discovery was quietly adopted into U.S. law by the Supreme Court in the celebrated case, Johnson v. McIntosh (8 Wheat., 543). Writing for a unanimous court, Chief Justice John Marshall observed that Christian European nations had assumed "ultimate dominion" over the lands of America during the Age of Discovery, and that - upon "discovery" - the Indians had lost "their rights to complete sovereignty, as independent nations," and only retained a right of "occupancy" in their lands. In other words, Indians nations were subject to the ultimate authority of the first nation of Christendom to claim possession of a given region of Indian lands. [Johnson:574; Wheaton:270-1]

According to Marshall, the United States - upon winning its independence in 1776 - became a successor nation to the right of "discovery" and acquired the power of "dominion" from Great Britain. [Johnson:587-9] Of course, when Marshall first defined the principle of "discovery," he used language phrased in such a way that it drew attention away from its religious bias, stating that "discovery gave title to the government, by whose subject, or by whose authority, the discovery was made, against all other European governments." [Johnson:573-4] However, when discussing legal precedent to support the court's findings, Marshall specifically cited the English charter issued to the explorer John Cabot, in order to document England's "complete recognition" of the Doctrine of Discovery. [Johnson:576] Then, paraphrasing the language of the charter, Marshall noted that Cabot was authorized to take possession of lands, "notwithstanding the occupancy of the natives, who were heathens, and, at the same time, admitting the prior title of any Christian people who may have made a previous discovery." [Johnson:577]

In other words, the Court affirmed that United States law was based on a fundamental rule of the "Law of Nations" - that it was permissible to virtually ignore the most basic rights of indigenous "heathens," and to claim that the "unoccupied lands" of America rightfully belonged to discovering Christian European nations. Of course, it's important to understand that, as Benjamin Munn Ziegler pointed out in The International Law of John Marshall, the term "unoccupied lands" referred to "the lands in America which, when discovered, were 'occupied by Indians' but 'unoccupied' by Christians." [Ziegler:46]

Ironically, the same year that the Johnson v. McIntosh decision was handed down, founding father James Madison wrote: "Religion is not in the purview of human government. Religion is essentially distinct from civil government, and exempt from its cognizance; a connection between them is injurious to both."

Most of us have been brought up to believe that the United States Constitution was designed to keep church and state apart. Unfortunately, with the Johnson decision, the Christian Doctrine of Discovery was not only written into U.S. law but also became the cornerstone of U.S. Indian policy over the next century.

From Doctrine of Discoveryto Domestic Dependent NationsUsing the principle of "discovery" as its premise, the Supreme Court stated in 1831 that the Cherokee Nation (and, by implication, all Indian nations) was not fully sovereign, but "may, perhaps," be deemed a "domestic dependent nation." [Cherokee Nation v. Georgia] The federal government took this to mean that treaties made with Indian nations did not recognize Indian nations as free of U.S. control. According to the U.S. government, Indian nations were "domestic dependent nations" subject to the federal government's absolute legislative authority - known in the law as "plenary power." Thus, the ancient doctrine of Christian discovery and its subjugation of "heathen" Indians were extended by the federal government into a mythical doctrine that the U.S. Constitution allows for governmental authority over Indian nations and their lands. [Savage:59-60]

The myth of U.S. "plenary power" over Indians - a power, by the way, that was never intended by the authors of the Constitution [Savage:115-17] - has been used by the United States to:

Circumvent the terms of solemn treaties that the U.S. entered into with Indian nations, despite the fact that all such treaties are "supreme Law of the Land, anything in the Constitution notwithstanding."

Steal the homelands of Indian peoples living east of the Mississippi River, by removing them from their traditional ancestral homelands through the Indian Removal Act of 1835.

Use a congressional statute, known as the General Allotment Act of 1887, to divest Indian people of some 90 million acres of their lands. This act, explained John Collier (Commissioner of Indian Affairs) was "an indirect method - peacefully under the forms of law - of taking away the land that we were determined to take away but did not want to take it openly by breaking the treaties."

Steal the sacred Black Hills from the Great Sioux nation in violation of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie which recognized the Sioux Nation's exclusive and absolute possession of their lands.

Pay the Secretary of the Interior $26 million for 24 million acres of Western Shoshone lands, because the Western Shoshone people have steadfastly refused to sell the land and refused to accept the money. Although the Western Shoshone Nation's sovereignty and territorial boundaries were clearly recognized by the federal government in the 1863 Ruby Valley Treaty, the government now claims that paying itself on behalf of the Western Shoshone has extinguished the Western Shoshone's title to their lands. The above cases are just a few examples of how the United States government has used the Johnson v. McIntosh and Cherokee Nation v. Georgia decisions to callously disregard the human rights of Native peoples. Indeed, countless U.S. Indian policies have been based on the underlying, hidden rationale of "Christian discovery" - a rationale which holds that the "heathen" indigenous peoples of the Americas are "subordinate to the first Christian discoverer," or its successor. [Wheaton:271]

As Thomas Jefferson once observed, when the state uses church doctrine as a coercive tool, the result is "hypocrisy and meanness." Unfortunately, the United States Supreme Court's use of the ancient Christian Doctrine of Discovery - to circumvent the Constitution as a means of taking Indian lands and placing Indian nations under U.S. control - has proven Madison and Jefferson right.

Bringing an End to Five Hundred Years of Injusticeto Indigenous PeoplesIn a country set up to maintain a strict separation of church and state, the Doctrine of Discovery should have long ago been declared unconstitutional because it is based on a prejudicial treatment of Native American people simply because they were not Christians at the time of European arrival. By penalizing Native people on the basis of their non-Christian religious beliefs and ceremonial practices, stripping them of most of their lands and most of their sovereignty, the Johnson v. McIntosh ruling stands as a monumental violation of the "natural rights" of humankind, as well as the most fundamental human rights of indigenous peoples.

As we move beyond the quincentennial of Columbus' invasion of the Americas, it is high time to formally renounce and put an end to the religious prejudice that was written into U.S. law by Chief Justice John Marshall. Whether or not the American people - especially the Christian right - prove willing to assist Native people in getting the Johnson ruling overturned will say a lot to the world community about just how seriously the United States takes its own foundational principles of liberty, justice, and religious freedom.

As we approach the 500th anniversary of the Inter Cetera bulls on May 3 and 4 of 1993, it is important to keep in mind that the Doctrine of Discovery is still being used by countries throughout the Americas to deny the rights of indigenous peoples, and to perpetuate colonization throughout the Western Hemisphere. To begin to bring that system of colonization to an end, and to move away from a cultural and spiritual tradition of subjugation, we must overturn the doctrine at its roots. Therefore, I propose that non-Native people - especially Christians - unite in solidarity with indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere to impress upon Pope John Paul II how important it is for him to revoke, in a formal ceremony with indigenous people, the Inter Cetera bulls of 1493.

Revoking those papal documents and overturning the Johnson v. McIntosh decision are two important first steps toward correcting the injustices that have been inflicted on indigenous peoples over the past five hundred years. They are also spiritually significant steps toward creating a way of life that is no longer based on greed and subjugation. Perhaps then we will be able to use our newfound solidarity to begin to create a lifestyle based on the first indigenous principle: "Respect the Earth and have a Sacred Regard for All Living Things."

Steve Newcomb is an American Indian of Shawnee & Lenape ancestry. For over a decade, he has studied the origins of United States federal Indian law and international law dating back to the early days of Christendom. He is currently completing a book on his findings titled, Pagans In the Promised Land: Religion, Law, and the American Indian.

Post subject: Re: A state of war between Crow Creek Dakotah Oyate and the US

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2013 10:09 am

Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2009 4:53 pmPosts: 654

ghostwarrior wrote:

"Even today, you live in the United States of Dakota. All of this is Dakota Territory."

Ray Owen, Prairie Island Indian Community, 2010

"SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — One of the country's poorest Native American tribes wants to buy a historically significant piece of land where 300 of their ancestors were killed, but tribal leaders say the nearly $4 million price tag for a property appraised at less than $7,000 is just too much."http://news.msn.com/us/landowner-asks-d ... -knee-site

By Any Means Necessary: it is the legal and indeed moral right right of the People of the Oceti Sakowin under International agreements to which the united states of america is a signatory to defend ourselves and our homelands against american and canadian aggression in the form of that xlt tarsands pipeline... parts of which have already been illegally constructed on dakota territory and must be removed.

"Lift up your hatchets; raise your knives; sight your rifles! Have no fears--your lives are charmed! Stand up to the foe; he is a weakling and a coward! Fall upon him! Leave him to the wolves and the buzzards!"

Post subject: Re: A state of war between Crow Creek Dakotah Oyate and the US

Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 2:45 pm

Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2009 4:53 pmPosts: 654

Mohawk Nation News 'Kill the Messenger'

"For a moment the crowd calmed down. Then the insults started again. The speaker was accused of “having no feelings”. The speaker answered, “Yes, the we have strong feelings about the genocide of 100 million people and the murder of half our children placed in your church run residential schools. No one has been charged or punished for this.” More angry words flew. None addressed the legitimate issues. The sound arguments backed them into a corner. It was like they were standing on their hind legs and were ready to jump the Mohawks."

Post subject: Re: A state of war between Crow Creek Dakotah Oyate and the US

Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 8:14 am

Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2009 4:53 pmPosts: 654

"Should they even have to buy land that they believe was stolen from them? Should the land be developed or preserved as sacred? Should the tribe, whose people are among the poorest in America, capitalize on what happened here?"

hau lostspirit a good day to you my friend what i will say is that i am not afraid to die and unlike others in this world who stand up to the americans i don't bluff or use "bellicose rhetoric" because i don't have to and because what i speak of IS the truth...and what i speak of is the ongoing AMERICAN HOLOCAUST and in this case the latest american assault on the People of Oceti Sakowin is this transcanada xlt pipeline. furthermore the americans negotiating with the puppet american ira governments set up on individual reservations is a dead end because these "governments" represent a small minority of colonized individuals who use the white man's road to make themselves the haves on our lands while the People continue to suffer and thats coming to an end whether the americans or the colonial indians on the american indian reform act tribal councils like it or not.

Post subject: Re: A state of war between Crow Creek Dakotah Oyate and the US

Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2013 9:30 pm

Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2008 3:20 pmPosts: 152

"SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — One of the country's poorest Native American tribes wants to buy a historically significant piece of land where 300 of their ancestors were killed, but tribal leaders say the nearly $4 million price tag for a property appraised at less than $7,000 is just too much."

Once again....How can you buy land ...which is yours....from whom?Wa'sicu...?Seems a pretty fair definition of the word to me.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

THE LAND IS NOT FOR SALE!

GW,

_________________"A people without history is like wind on the buffalo grass."- Teton Sioux proverb

Post subject: Re: A state of war between Crow Creek Dakotah Oyate and the US

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 4:43 pm

Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2009 4:53 pmPosts: 654

ghostwarrior wrote:

hau lostspirit a good day to you my friend what i will say is that i am not afraid to die and unlike others in this world who stand up to the americans i don't bluff or use "bellicose rhetoric" because i don't have to and because what i speak of IS the truth...and what i speak of is the ongoing AMERICAN HOLOCAUST and in this case the latest american assault on the People of Oceti Sakowin is this transcanada xlt pipeline.

hau ghostwarrior, they really don't care who they kill.

Here is video of the new pipeline break in Arkansas. See it running down the street. It mentions that the pipeline is 40 years old. If the electronic "pig" in the pipe was doing its job it would have found the weakened pipe and could have been fixed before hand. This really is something to see, something that WILL happen to all those along the pipelines routes:

Post subject: Re: A state of war between Crow Creek Dakotah Oyate and the US

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 4:53 pm

Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2009 4:53 pmPosts: 654

Thermlin wrote:

"SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — One of the country's poorest Native American tribes wants to buy a historically significant piece of land where 300 of their ancestors were killed, but tribal leaders say the nearly $4 million price tag for a property appraised at less than $7,000 is just too much."

Once again....How can you buy land ...which is yours....from whom?...?Seems a pretty fair definition of the word to me.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

THE LAND IS NOT FOR SALE!

Thermlin, I agree with you. But some of your own people sold that land. Maybe because of financial problems they had to but on the other hand some may just have been Wa'sicu.

While this is a bit off the subject, what are your and ghostwarrior's feelings about the "Crazy Horse Monument?" When I went to the Paha Sapa it totally pissed me off. Later I read that a Lakota "Chief" had given his blessing and thought it was a GREAT idea. I could not reconcile blowing up another mountain in the Paha Sapa to "honor" a warrior that would not even let his picture be taken. I mean, just who's head is on it????????

"Egypt had its locusts, Asiatic countries their cholera, England its black plague. But it was left for unfortunate Indian Territory to be afflicted with the worst scourge of the 19th century, the Dawes Commission."

the Akicita of Oceti Sakowin beat the americans time and time again on the battlefield why don't they teach that in their HIStory books then there wouldn't be all these loud ass ignorant americans in cities talking shit their government can't back up with anything but violence because it appears the americans are having short term memory issues and coming back for some more with their insistence on allowing a foreign corporation to illegally construct that transcanada black snake of death across our territory.

my own elder relative of 83 winters has spoken his words that he will be there to be one of the first to be shot down by the americans if they attempt to invade our territory in the name of a canadian corporation i would add that his is a single voice among many that i have heard make such a committment to defend our homelands against further acts of american aggression. i too have committed myself to by any means necessary and await the decision of the american buffalo soldier barack obama.

On the mesa behind me more than 600 years ago the Zuni Nation of People fought their own european invaders to a standstill and so today their society, customs and traditions remain intact. What i understand is that Indigenous Children must be learning their own languages first and then english or whatever else because it is ONLY through that language that worldviews and lifeways that are in some cases thousands of years old can be passed on to the next generation.

Post subject: Re: A state of war between Crow Creek Dakotah Oyate and the US

Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 1:10 pm

Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:06 pmPosts: 214Location: Iowa

Hau, GW. I have been reading some of your earlier posts on this subject and have learned much regarding the indiginous warriors. One particular quote struck me today with significance and I requote it because I think it loudly proclaims what you are discussing in today's post:

Quote:

"Will we let ourselves be destroyed in our turn without a struggle, give up our homes, our country bequeathed to us by the Great Spirit, the graves of our dead and everything that is dear and sacred to us? I know you will cry with me, 'Never! Never!" Tecumseh - Shawnee

As a person of European ancestory I am appalled because I have looked into the true history of this country and know what atrocities beyond belief have been done to the American Indians (and the fact that this true history is "glossed over" in all learning institutions). I find it sickening to watch the news because it is reported by people who are offspring of Europeans, Asians, and African Americans; all illegal squatters on this which in truth belongs to the indiginous people. How they can report, discuss and make decisions that are not really their decisions to make? Why don't they admit that they have not honored the treaties but rather have distorted them by their rhetoric? I find this all sickening and truthfully would stand with the red men and women rather than my own kind.

Quote:

furthermore the americans negotiating with the puppet american ira governments set up on individual reservations is a dead end because these "governments" represent a small minority of colonized individuals who use the white man's road to make themselves the haves on our lands while the People continue to suffer and thats coming to an end whether the americans or the colonial indians on the american indian reform act tribal councils like it or not.

I agree 100 percent with this statement and pray that the brave people of your ancestory will make a stand and that the current unfair conditions will swiftly come to an end.

Last edited by lilac on Thu Apr 11, 2013 1:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The April 15th Resolution cited linguistic research that demonstrates the existence of the Siouan language group in five Canadian provinces and twenty four of the US states, thus firmly establishing aboriginal rights for the Dakota/Lakota/Nakota, even in unceded territories. The Resolution cites the recently signed INTERNATIONAL TREATY TO PROTECT THE SACRED AGAINST TARSANDS which was initiated between the Ihanktonwan and the Pawnee Nation, and signed by seven other Indigenous Sovereigns in the US and Canada since January 25, 2013. The parties to that Treaty affirmed that "our laws define our solemn duty and responsibility to our ancestors, to ourselves and to future generations, to protect the lands and waters of our homelands, and we agree to mutually and collectively oppose tar sands projects which would impact our territories, including but not limited to the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline."

The April 15 action also resolved that the Ihanktonwan will support the Oglala Nation Resolution of March 26, 2013 prohibiting any intrusion of Tar Sands Projects in the 1851 and 1868 Treaty areas.

The elected Ihanktonwan government officials and the elected Treaty Council Delegates will deliver the two resolutions as well as the recently signed International Treaty to Protect the Sacred to the State Department Hearing in Grand Island, Nebraska on April 18, 2013.

In a letter of October 23, 2011 to the Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, Chief Oliver Red Cloud stated, “I am writing as the Itancan of the Oglala Band of the Lakota Oyate. I am writing to you now in that capacity in opposition to the proposed TransCanada KXL Pipeline.” Chief Red Cloud stated that the treaties between the United States and the Lakota Nation are “recognized as legally binding international agreements that have never been abrogated or diminished,” any activity on the Lakota homeland without the free, prior and informed consent of the Lakota Oyate is illegal. Our people, through many different organizations and United Nations’ non-governmental organizations … have stood together in undisputed opposition to issuing a permit for the KXL Pipeline. There has also been substantial public and private opposition from non-Indigenous sectors of society. On the basis of our ancient laws that demand that we assume responsibility for our territory and its protection for future generations and under the international laws and standards identified above, we oppose any attempt to construct the KXL Pipeline across our territory. As a representative of your people, it is your responsibility to oppose the permit application submitted by TransCanada and to urge President Obama to deny the permit.” The resolution of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council Declarations, governmental acts of many Red Nations, the work of Owe Aku and other public organizations, demonstrates the ongoing unity to protect sacred water.

THE BLACK HILLS SIOUX NATION TREATY COUNCIL REAFFIRMS INHERENT SOVEREIGNTY AND AUTHORITY AND THAT IS A SEPARATE AND DISTINCT ENTITY FROM THE 1934 IRA GOVERNMENT AND WILL EMPLOY ITS’ INHERENT AUTHORITY TO DECISION MAKING AND LEADERSHIP TO PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF, AND OUR RIGHTS IN, THE 1851 AND 1868 FT LARAMIE TREATIES.

BLACK HILLS SIOUX NATION TREATY COUNCIL

DECLARATION OF INHERENT SOVEREIGNTY AND AUTHORITY ASSEPARATE AND DISTINCT FROM1934 INDIAN REORGANIZATION ACT GOVERNMENT

THE BLACK HILLS SIOUX NATION REATY COUNCIL REAFFIRMS ITS DECLARATION OF INHERENT AUTHROITY AND SOVEREIGNTY AS A SEPARATE AND DISTINCT ENTITY FROM THE 1934 INDIAN REORGANIZATION ACT GOVERNMENT OF THE BUREAU OF THE INDIANS AFFAIRS IN THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. THE BLACK HILLS SIOUX NATION TREATY COUNCIL IS COMMITTED TO UPHOLDING THE 1851 AND 1868 FT. LARAMIE TREATIES.

To issue this statement regarding our Inherent Sovereignty and Authority over our own people and Nation and our sacred lands, we must take a moment to remind the IRA governments, the United States, and the world why Treaty Rights are so important to us in contemporary times and to our coming generations. Our ancient history dates back thousands of years. Our Creation Story places our ancestors in the He Sapa (Black Hills) thousands of years ago when our people emerged from living within Mother Earth through the long tunnel called Wind Cave in the southern He Sapa.Our name for the He Sapa is Wacante Wamaka Ognake (The Hear of Everything That Is). Our ancestors received from Taku Skan Skan (That Which Moves IS In Constant Motion) instructions on how to adapt our life to the coming of the sacred pipe. Taku Skan Skan sent these instructions through his daughter, Woope (the Law) as She is known in the Spirit World, and Pte San Win (White Buffalo Calf Pipe Woman) as She is known on Earth. She brought with Her ceremonies and showed us how our values and ways of life are connected to the sacred pipe and taught this to us to live in a good way. Our ancestors taught us how the Star Nation moves in ceremony, and how we are to live on Mother Earth as the Stars live in the sky. This teaching includes places on earth that have a corresponding place in the Star Nation, known as constellations to the world, and as sacred ceremonies to the Lakota. These special places are within the Wacante Wamaka Ognake. As the Star Nation moves through the Universe through the seasons, we are to move here on earth. As each constellation corresponds to a location on Mother Earth, each sacred ceremony (spiritual way) has a corresponding social teaching. Thus, our Lakota Oyate (Nation, People) follow the instructions from Taku Skan Skan as delivered by Pte San Win. The sacred ceremonies depicted in the Start Nation and the way it moves and their companion locations on earth are more than sacred ceremonies, they are cumulatively the Lakota Lifeway. As we preserve our sacred ceremonies, we preserve our Lakota Lifeway. The land and land formations are intrinsic to Lakota Lifeway. We must roam these land formations as the starts travel the Universe. Certain medicines, foods, plans, animals, and birds, we must gather specifically in the He Sapa and from the land in Treaty Territory. This is what our ancestors fought and died for. Our Creation Story teaches us that the Lakota Oyate have a long spiritual and social relationship with the Pte Oyate (Buffalo Nation), and how we are to depend on and take care of the Pte Oyate, including the land, plants, medicine and water that they need to live. From time immemorial, the Lakota Oyate were a strong People because of the Pte Oyate. As we emerged from Mother Earth through Wind Cave we were caretakers of the Pte Oyate. While the contemporary world depends on the written word, the computer microchip and other methods of recording what is important to them, our ancestors have given us the spoken word to preserve our history and this way is as valid to our people as the modern methods are valid to the contemporary world. Our spoken word history and teachings remind us that our relationship to the sacred He Sapa goes way back to the time when the enormous lizard (dinosaur) and cat with long teeth (giant sabertooth tiger) hunted huge buffalo (mammoth). Our petroglyphs (written word) demonstrate this to the world.

INVASION Our relationship to this land predates European sailors prowling the oceans to explore for and claim land for their government and the souls of people for their religions under “doctrines” contrived to legitimize their land thefts and enslavement of human beings. It is the explorers who led the coming of the white man into our homeland, again through “discovery” such as the expeditions of Lewis and Clark, who were the hired spies of the United States to seek and map “new” lands and resources. Through these Christian Doctrines, the US government developed their “federal Indian policy” and laws used to wipe out entire Nations of Peoples here and to take land. These laws are still in use. It is interpreted by many of our traditional Lakota people to understand that the US today utilizes “federal Indian policy” in much the same way as the US military used the Gatling gun against our ancestors at Wounded Knee in 1890. Prior to the coming of the white man to our great plains, the united States committed genocide against Native Nations and Peoples living along and inland from the eastern coast, literally wiping off the face of the earth many Native Nations of People, and bringing many Nations to the brink of extinction. The US developed federal policy and law as a tool to further legitimize their taking of lands that they had no right to, and to commit colonization on the remaining Native Nations and Peoples. Once the US government sent its people and institutions (military and religion) out to the great prairies, rivers, and mountains of our ancestors, it had already determined the tools for the genocide of the Lakota Oyate: slaughter of the mass buffalo herds to wipe out our economy to create dependency, gifts of smallpox infested blankets to wipe out our people as we had no disease resistance, and whiskey mixed with opium to create a crazed addiction and havoc in society. The US used their military against our people, our camps. Our families lived all together, we did not have a separate military organization as did the US, when they attacked, they attacked our families, our camps. The United States called their plan “The Scorched Earth Policy” and it was carried out by the their military, their government, their citizens, and their organized religions with the deliberate intention to wipe us our as a People to clear the way for US settlement and resource development. Our ancestors were forced into war making to protect our inherent right to exist as a People, our land base and all that lived and grew on it, and our freedom and autonomy as the Bands of the Lakota Nation, the Council Fires. Following decades of war, the Lakota Oyate entered into the 1851 Ft Laramie Treaty and a few years later, the 1868 Ft Laramie Treaty with the USD, who desperately wanted peace. The 1868 Ft Laramie Treaty was ratified by the US on Feb 16, 1869. The many Tiospaye that comprise the Bands of the Lakota Nation are the treaty making body, a sovereign people with inherent rights. Nations enter into treaties with other Nations. Our ancestors made sure the He Sapa was in the center of our retained Treaty Territory which included plenty of water, plants, animals, medicines that we need as Lakota Oyate. The 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty is an international legal document and the basis of our international relationship with the United States, and the world. The US government and its people began to violate this Treaty immediately upon the “discovery” of gold in the He Sapa and have continued to violate this Treaty to this day. The US government and its people realized the abundance of minerals, plants and land within our land base, and their appetites for wealth were whetted, and indeed, have never been satiated as they continue to extract from Mother Earth in order to profit from this degradation. The taking of lands by the US after the ratification of the 1868 Ft Laramie Treaty are illegal acts as unilateral decisions of the US. The 1868 Ft Laramie Treaty states that any revision of Treaty Territory requires action by three-fourths of Lakota males, which has never happened. Although the US, through coercion of Tiospaye Naca and other leaders, later gathered a few signatures on their “official” documents, these Lakota men knew their signatures were meaningless as the Treaty stipulated that three-fourths of the Lakota males must agree to any changes to Treaty Territory. The coercion employed by the US to get at the He Sapa shows its’ greed and willingness to connive in a despicable manner, or in the words of the US Supreme Court, “the most ripe and rank” manner. As the mass buffalo herds were slaughtered by this point in time and there was hardly an game, the US government called their effort the “Starve or Sell” campaign. History documents show the US military left piles of food items in strategic locations, for the hungry Lakota to find, and it shows us that inside these piles of food, the US military left bombs which would explode when the hungry Lakota would touch them. Often, the food would be poisoned, in case any Lakota survived the explosion they would die from eating poisoned food. Unilateral decisions by the US government to take Treaty Territory or resources since 1868 were made for self enrichment at the expense of the Lakota Nation, and at the irrevocable detriment to Mother Earth, without concern for the impact on all of life in these mining areas invaded by the US. The 1872 US Mining Act, designed to enrich its institutions, is still the law that governs mining. It is a treaty violation. The US Supreme Court has declared that the United States violated the Ft Laramie Treaty. The Supreme Court identified these acts as “the ripest, rankest case of theft in the history of the United States.” Although this Supreme Court decision is applauded by many as a minimal gesture of justice, the vents that led to this decision offer further examples of how US unilateral decision oppress the Lakota Oyate. This case ended up at the Supreme Court due to US unilateral decisions that were taken up by Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) governments. The US unilateral decision to take Treaty Territory and resources violates its’ own Constitution, “Treaties are the supreme law of the land.” The Supreme Court decision that money will be awarded as settlement of the “ripest, rankest case of theft in the history of the US” is proof that the Lakota Oyate have pursued Treaty Rights through every existing apparatus in the United States and that the decisions by the US institutions show the world that the Lakota will never see our Treaty upheld if the decision is to be made by US: we will not accept money for the illegal taking of land, the US institutions will only pay money for the illegal taking of Treaty Territory. We are at an impasse.

COLONIZATION The US created its own apparatus to continue to make decisions intended to control the Lakota, decisions detrimental to the Lakota. Through the decision of the US to create the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, tribal governments were formed. Lakota consensus was absent in the US decision that we wanted a new form of government to replace our traditional form of government. While the Howard-Wheeler Act may have been developed with the best of intentions by American sympathizers to the treatment of the Lakota by the US, it is an illegal act and has never been accepted by Lakota consensus. Actions by this form of government often further erode Treaty Rights and sovereignty, actions absent Lakota consensus. The Ira government was used to take the Lakota Oyate Treaty Rights into the lower arenas of the US government, such as the specially developed Indian Claims Court and the Supreme Court, when this struggle for Treaty Rights legally belongs between our Nation and the US government as it is a Nation to Nation Treaty. The IRA government continues to deepen the assimilation and colonization of the Lakota people. A vivid example of IRA governments’ upholding unilateral decisions made by the US is the action of IRA’s entrance to Treaty Council business. Although in every generation there have been Lakota men recognized as Treaty Leaders, the IRA government in support of decisions by the US, took action to enter Treaty council business, creating confusion and dissension among the Lakota Oyate as IRA goals and Treaty Council goals are often diametrically opposed. The IRA governments now make decisions absent Band consensus. The Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council reaffirms its’ Declaration of Inherent Authority and Sovereignty to the Indian Reorganization Act government of the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Interior Department of the US government, and to the American President Barrack Obama, as well as the US State Department. This is necessary as IRA government continues to operate as the colonizer of the Lakota, to deepen assimilation policies of the US, is unable to enforce Treaty Rights, and moves in and out of discussion to accept money for Treaty violations. The Cobell Settlement and the Black Hills Claim are two examples of such discussion IRA governments end up in when approached by outside world attorneys, consultants, investors, and other such entities, not to mention extractive mining speculators, explorers, and mining corporations. From its’ passage to today, the IRA government makes decisions that fail to protect our land base and our inherent rights as a sovereign people as evidenced by Treaty violations in the unilateral taking of Treaty Territory lands, water, natural resources by state governments and the US and in its business with private, state, federal, and multinational corporate entities. The effects of colonization, assimilation, post traumatic stress, and other conditions suffered in the near-genocide inflicted on our people by the US government and its military and religious organization has influenced the minds and hearts of our past generations. The cumulative effects of this experience confined the thinking of past generations to that of the parameters set by the US government and its policies. We must remember that in the early days of “reservation” life, we were considered Prisoners of War, and our people living on federal Indian Reservations were given the designation Prisoner of War, and reservations were assigned numbers. Pine Ridge is Prisoner of War Camp 344. Our people have examined the historical relationship with the United States and its institutions, including IRA government and its impacts on our people. The stark reality of the conditions of our people force Traditional Leaders to take action to put forth a vision, which cannot include accepting the parameters imposed on our Lakota Oyate. Our people live in the most economically depressed areas of the US. We are the poorest of the poor. We have the worst health and poorest health care. Social and political scientists refer to our demographics as comparable to Third World conditions. Our waters are contaminated, the US promises funding to pipe in clean water, and routinely cuts it to pennies on the dollar. For the past several years, this piped in drinking water is under threat by multinational corporations seeking to build oil pipelines across it. Our babies die faster and more often than any infant in America. Our young people have the suicide rate in this country. We risk losing our Lakota language and ways of life. We are at a crossroads. As we see the continuing erosion of Treaty Rights, we also see our Lakota way of life slowly disappearing. If we do not act now, we risk our future as a distinct people. We discard the foreign notions of assimilation and colonization; we do not believe the promises of the US, including the assurances of the IRA that an IRA influenced Treaty Council can operate in alliance with an IRA government. Outside of the parameters of restrained and restricted thinking imposed on our people by colonization, the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council reaffirms that it must operate outside of a relationship with the 1934 IRA government to preserve the integrity of, and our rights, in the 1851 and 1868 Ft Laramie Treaties. It will not be colonized thinking, actions, or institutions that aid our efforts to uphold our Treaty Rights. We acknowledge that relatives sit in IRA government, who attempt to protect and provide for the people. The colonization of our people has created in the minds of some of our people the notion that he or she can take IRA office and be a leader, however, history shows us that it is not possible for IRA to take sovereign action to benefit the whole Band, or the coming generations, or the work to protect Treaty Rights, as the IRA form of government is not in place to take such actions. The IRA government has sought to control Treaty Councils and to determine who holds such position, usurping from the Lakota Oyate the inherent right to chose leaders, and has often taken action that, intended or not, undermines the work of the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council to uphold the 1851 and 1868 Ft Laramie Treaties.

THE BLACK HILLS SIOUX NATION TREATY COUNCIL REAFFIRMS THAT IS A SEPARATE AND DISTINCT ENTITY FROM THE 1934 IRA GOVERNMENT AND WILL EMPLOY ITS’ INHERENT AUTHORITY AND SOVEREIGNTY TO DECSION MAKING AND LEADERSHIP TO PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF, AND OUR RIGHTS IN, THE 1851 AND 1868 FT LARAMIE TREATIES

Post subject: Re: A state of war between Crow Creek Dakotah Oyate and the US

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:21 pm

Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:06 pmPosts: 214Location: Iowa

Quote:

the united States committed genocide against Native Nations and Peoples living along and inland from the eastern coast, literally wiping off the face of the earth many Native Nations of People, and bringing many Nations to the brink of extinction.

With all due respect to the Native Nations and People (who I agree, should be the ones who decide what is best for their land and people); science has done numerous reports and they all point to the horrific truth: the installment of this pipeline by the greedy and murderous corporations and puppet governments that exist in the physical realm called the united states and canada will end up not only destroying the rightful people of this land but also the animals, birds, forests, jungles, prairies....all of us, because "we can’t protect future generations from the worst impacts of global warming." Also, “If he’s to keep his promise to confront climate change to protect America’s wildlife and communities, President Obama should say no to the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline,” said Jim Murphy, senior counsel at the National Wildlife Federation. “Our leaders can’t have it both ways – if they’re truly committed to protecting America’s wildlife and communities from climate change, they need to say no to Keystone XL and massive amounts of climate-disrupting carbon pollution it would deliver.”http://priceofoil.org/2013/04/16/cookin ... ystone-xl/

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum